Airborne Siding & Window LLC

Joe Austin did a fantastic job. He arrived at the time he stated and upon completion of the work removed any and all debris. I intend to use Joe again. He has done work for others in the neighborhood as well and I’ve heard no complaints.

Joe Austin from Airborne Siding and Window was great. After a 6 month search for replacement windows I came across his company. He was the most appealing due to his no pressure tactics and knowledge of windows. Prior to choosing Airborne I considered and/or received estimates from Lowes (Pella & Reliabilt), Renewal by Anderson, Pella Corporation, Homecraftinc (ProVia), Window World, PJ Fitzpatrick (Infinity by Marvin) (worst experience), Yencer Builders (ViWinco) and lastly Home Depot (American Craftsman and Simonton). Joe from Airborne first explained his product - Soft-Lite and Vista, both of which had great ratings, but I was not keen on their appearance. I explained what I was looking for and Joe ended up finding me a product from a different company named - HARVEY Windows. BINGO! This is what I was looking for. I got their best window. Triple pane, Low E, Krypton. U-Factor=0.21, SHGC=0.21, VT=0.35. The deciding factors were the window ratings and how clean the appearance of the window looked. It tilted by its locks and not by separate window latches. The separate tilt latches on most replacement look gaudy and cheap to me. I also like the way the lower window sash opened by two separate handles versus a long bar that most replacement windows use. There were some issues from the manufacturer - some of the screens were loose, but replaced. And a lower obscure sash for my bathroom was sent to me incorrectly, but it too was corrected. Windows are now in and look great and I have received numerous compliments on them. Hopefully this will make your decision easier. Never heard of Harvey before, but I would definitely choose them again. See attached pics.

Airborne responded quickly and fixed the roof damage and leak properly. They charge a fair price for their services and Mr. Austin is a person that you can trust. He's done work for us several times over the last 20+ years and he has never let us down. I've recommended Airborne to family and friends as well (pre-facebook). Airborne is a veteran-owned local business that I trust and a business that I will continue to rely on.

Prior to Joe beginning our roofing job, the day I signed the contract, I focused his attention to an area on the lower roof of our home, above the garage and attic. A portion of that roof sagged, I asked that he look at it, try to fix it before nailing shingles on the roof. I didn't know what caused a sagging roof at the time. I have since learned, as any roofer knows it may be because of broken rafters which you can only determine by inspecting the rafters in the area of the sag. If there is a broken rafter, these things only get worse, eventually the roof will collapse, damaging your property and hurting anyone in the area. If you have broken rafters, your home insurance can cancel your policy, if proof of repair is not provided, for that very reason - it is a safety issue. I don't know what fool would call and say, "Guess what I found," but the point is, this is a problem and by the time the roof sags, it is a potentially serious problem. The repair is inexpensive and relatively simple from the exposed roof, but Joe did not go and inspect the rafters in the area of the sag. He diagnosed the sag from the front yard, looking up at the roof and said it was because our garage only had one support beam, the only way to remove that sag would be to jack up the entire garage, add another support beam, but that would cause cracks all over the place, he advised me not to fix it for that reason and ended with, "it won't get any worse." I trusted this roofers opinion, and I did tell him that dropped only in the past couple of months, he said, "You probably just didn't notice it before." I asked him a second time - now on the job to just think about this, while at home this evening, maybe there is something you can do, added this means a lot to me, I didn't want an $8,016 new roof that sags. Can you just put thicker plywood and more felt in that area, so it looks level, I ignorantly asked. He said the singles would not lay flat, but promised to think about it that evening. He returned to work the next day, did not approach me, so I asked him, if he had given that sag, any more thought? He said, "No, it isn't worth my time and effort." I felt slapped in the face and today my heart aches because had he taken a moment to go inspect the area of the sag, he would have discovered we had several cracked, broken and twisted rafters in the attic just above the sag, and they were the cause of our sagging roof and we would have been spared the grief we endured. We found these cracked and broken rafters by accident while moving things back into the attic area two days after he finished our new roof - it was a Sunday we spent the day researching and educating ourselves. We called him on Monday, he said, "I made a mistake, I should have checked the rafters, but quickly added, no one else would have checked each and every rafter," He also said, "The contract said "I would only replace the rafters if they were rotted, yours were broken, so I didn't have to replace them." It was then I noticed Joe gave us no warranty on his work, I missed this omission on the contract - hurry before someone else buys these. We hired someone else to fix the rafters. We received two opinions, both concurred our rafter repair could not be done from inside the attic, could only be done be re-exposing the roof and a large section at that. So that we would have a contractor warranty, manufacturer warranty, we all agreed re-roofing the entire lower roof, in our best interest. A new problem was created. The shingles Joe bought days earlier, were discontinued and now I have an upper roof with one style shingle which is 47% larger than the shingle now on my lower roof. This cost me $2,725.00. Joe admits he made a mistake "should of" checked to make sure the rafters were not broken, fixed them as the local building code requires, and pursuant to our contract, and didn't. I spoke with him since, he expects the rest of his money. I sent him a letter, asked him to subtract what it cost us to repair the rafters, re-roof $2,725.00 from the $8,016 he charged us, we would only owe him roughly $1,950 since we paid him so much already. He emphatically states, he expects to be paid in full "anyway." This is in spite of the fact, he was informed his work was inspected, if he made one mistake, I better make sure there are not others now, not this winter when my roof leaks. In this inspection done by three people in different capacities, it was discovered some things he did and/or didn't do (to increase his profit) voided our manufacturer warranty. $8,016 plus $2,725.00 - is grief. Joe Austin d/b/a Airborne Siding & Window has done a lot of work for us since 2004 - he installed new siding, all new windows, new patio door in 2004, did some interior work such as building some small wooden steps, installing a new entry-way & kitchen floor and base boards which I think was in 07, installed three solid wood doors in 08. He is not detail oriented, j-channels falling off, right next to the new roof he is putting on, ignores it. Siding falling off an area he removed to shingle- did not fix that properly and it has completely fallen off. He lacks the skills one needs to do a really nice job or perhaps he just doesn't care. Regardless, we asked him to come back fix some of his work, mistakes the inspector documented, and he refused - at least he didn't phone or write by the deadline we gave him. Now I have to hire someone else to fix that too. He lacks the tools to do the work right, he will try to make due with whatever he's got. As an example, he did not have the necessary tools to install my laminate floor, I didn't know that until I saw him struggling, asking me for Crisco oil, and when he returned the next day, I bought him the tools he needed and allowed him to keep them. When he tried to install our vented ridge cap, apparently his saw blade was too dull, or he made due by trying to use something else, because he cracked, split and destroyed sheathing and just left it and tired to adapt to install the ridge. I am sincere when I say, I continued to use all these years because I do not expect perfection, and until now if we phoned and hounded him (as we had to do when the patio door leaked) he would return to fix his work. However, I demand honesty and integrity and on this roofing work he has proven to us, he lacks both and for that reason, I will never use him again.

UPDATE:   Austin ignored my attempts to negotiate, ignored my attorney's attempts and simply filed suit against me on November 20, 2010 since I did not pay him the $4,676.00 by the contract due date of November 19.  He would not return to fix his work, I had to hire someone else to do so, yet Austin held fast to  "I made a mistake but I expect all my money anyway."    My attorney  filed a counter-suit claiming breach of contract for the sheathing Austin destroyed and left as well as his failure to repair my rafters.  My hearing was on May 9, 2011.  The Judge ruled in my favor stating "this is clearly a breach of contract" with regards to his not repairing my rafters and also ruled Austin is required to do his work in a workmanlike manner and he failed to do so in reference to the sheathing he destroyed/his shoddy work in "trying to adapt" to install the vented ridge cap which Joe admitted in court he had to install upside down "but that doesn't matter," he added.  The Judge added -  Austin is simply not "credible" as he continued his lies, excuses up to and during the trial.  My legal fees were $6,102.00 - but I would do it again - I don't give money to someone who says too bad for you, I made a mistake, too bad you had to hire someone else to fix my work - I expect all my money anyway.  The Judge agreed!